


The Hearts Call

by MadameAthena



Series: Ocean's Tide [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (Slightly), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Axel having endless pockets, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Pining, Possession, This is Ansem's time, more mer-action, underwater scenes!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-04-24 11:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19172281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadameAthena/pseuds/MadameAthena
Summary: After defeating Organisation 13, the gang aren't sure what to do. Content to relax after the past events, Xigbar's ominous warning still haunt them all. With the group splitting up, secrets unravelling before them all, they'll soon find out just how true that statement was, and what it will mean for all of merkind.





	1. Chapter 1

He was lost, walking around the human world was a lot more difficult to navigate then he had first anticipated. So much felt weird, having to move one leg before another, the chill of the night on his skin. His only comfort was the wind, ever present it wrapped around him, following him as he walked. He knew it had been a mistake, transforming so far from the town, but he had wanted to surprise his friend. He had headed off, adorned in a simple coat yet as he walked, he only became more and more lost. The sun had long since fallen, the tall trees blocking out the sliver of moon present in the sky, and now the night was chilling him to the bone.

He was tired, his newly acquired legs too weak to deal with the constant walking. Yet he couldn’t stop, not when he didn’t know what creatures lurked out in the dark. Suddenly one of his legs collapsed, causing him to fall with it. He lay on the ground tears in his eyes. This was it, he thought, this was the end. His fatigue overtook him, causing him to close his eyes. In doing so he missed the figure walking towards him, lantern in hand.

Waking up had been a surprise, yet all he felt was relief. He was on a bed, multiple blankets placed over him. The room was small, a simple desk sitting in one corner. Next to him was some clothes, they looked old, the colours mainly black with some grey. Sitting up in the bed he looked at the door. Had someone helped him. Slowly he stood up, putting on the clothes. 

He felt tired still, but the biting cold had left him. Once changed he walked to the door, hesitating for a moment before pushing open the door. It led to a simple hallway, with another door across from him. He followed the hallway, listening out for the home’s owner. Eventually he found himself in another room, it was larger, with a few chairs placed around a small table. The wall was lined with bookshelves, filled with books written in words he couldn’t read. He had never needed to.

“Ah, you’re awake.” He jumped not expecting a voice, turning around he spotted a man. He had black hair, which partially covered one of his eyes. He was wearing a black coat with the sleeves rolled up. The man smiled.

“I was quite surprised to find you passed out in the forest; most don’t come out this far.” The man explained.

“Thank you for helping me.” He said. The man smiled gently.

“I’m glad I could help, I’m Brain.”

“I’m Ventus, but you can call me Ven.” Ven smiled.

“Well Ven, you must be hungry, how about we eat and you tell me what you were doing out that late.” Brain said, Ven nodded suddenly realising just how hungry he was. The two walked into the kitchen.

\---------------------------------------

The two had talked, Ven explaining his reasons while Brain had listened, not an ounce of judgement coming off him. When Ven finished his story, he felt a little silly getting so easily lost. He knew his friends would be worried, Skuld and Ephemera would be searching the ocean looking for him and Marluxia would be worried that he never met up. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up he saw Brain.

“I can help you get back to town if you want.” He offered. Ven shot up, excitement radiating off him.

“Really, that would help a lot.” He exclaimed. Brain chuckled.

“I do have to warn you, it’s a bit of a walk. Can you handle it?” Ven smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Brain smiled.

“Then let’s be off.”

The walk had taken a good half a day, and with the short break the had taken the two were finally nearing town. Ven looked at his new companion, there were so many mysteries to Brain, yet Ven felt comfortable with him around. He hoped they stayed friends after this. Even if that meant having to walk to Brain’s house every time.

“Hey Brain, why do you live so far out.” Brain looked at him for a moment.

“It’s not actually my house, I’m watching over it for a friend.” Ven looked at him in surprise.

“Wow, you must be close to look after their entire house.” Ven knew that humans treated houses as their private place where no one could disturb them. Merpeople were a bit different, with their houses being more open. Every city was a tight knit community and everyone was comfortable enough to know who did and didn’t want people going through their homes.

“Yeah, he sprung it on me one day, I’m just waiting for him to come back.” Brain had a soft smile on his face. Before Ven could say anything else he saw something in the sky, looking up there were grey plumes slowly drifting upwards.

“A town!” He exclaimed, running forwards. Brain calmly walked behind him. The town was large. Buildings towered over each other, their purple rooftops making each stand out. Towering over all of them was a large clock tower, the large pendulum swinging with every second. The roads were full of people, each with their own purpose. Ven could smell all kinds of things. The ‘baked goods’ Marluxia had brought him once, the fresh fish that had been caught that morning. The winds were light, despite it being a seaside town. Brain came up next to him.

“Welcome to Daybreak town.” Ven looked at Brain.

“Thanks for taking me here.” He said.

“That’s what friends are for right.” Brain said, a smirk on his face.

“Now let’s go, don’t you have a friend you want to surprise.” Ven lit up at that.

“Let’s go!”

\-------------------------------------------

Finding Marluxia had been harder than Ven had thought, he didn’t actually know where Marluxia lived, and when he asked people, they either brushed him off or hurried away. Brain had said that might be his fault, the fedora he wore made people suspicious of him. Eventually the two found themselves at a fountain, people running around and playing. They sat down, tired from all their searching. Ven wasn’t sure what to do if he couldn’t find Marluxia, he could go to their spot but he had already missed their meet up time. He was so lost in thought he didn’t notice a woman walk up to them.

“Excuse me, I heard you’re looking for Marluxia.” Ven looked up at her. She had long blond hair, tied in a plat. She was wearing a white dress, with blue frills on the bottom.

“We are, do you know where he is.” Brain asked. She looked at him.

“You just missed him, he was in town a few hours ago, but I can show you to his house if you like.” Ven shot up at this.

“Really!” She smiled.

“Of course.” Brain stood up.

“The help would be appreciated.”

“I’m Nixamen, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Ven, and this is Brain.” He said, pointing to Brain.

“Pleasure.” He replied, dipping his hat slightly.

Following her the two were led to the residential district. The streets thinned out, with only the occasional passer-by. Eventually the three stood in front of a large house. It looked like all the other houses, a regular tutor home with a purple roof. Standing in front of the home was intimidating, this was it. The two with him patiently waited, letting him build up the courage to knock. Finally, he did. As the door opened Ven felt the excitement and anxiety build within him. This was it, after two days of getting lost and trying just to get back he was finally here. The door swung open and standing there was Marluxia.

He looked at the small group in surprise before Ven flung himself onto him. Hugging him tightly Ven looked up and smiled.

“Surprise.” Marluxia froze a moment before hugging Ven back, laughing all the while. Ven soaked up the contact, enjoying simply being in his friends’ arms. How long had I been since he had been here, surrounded by the warmth of his friends? He didn’t want to leave the feeling.

“What about Skuld and Ephemera.” He froze. 

Slowly backing out of the hug he looked around, trying to find the unfamiliar voice. He looked at Marluxia, hoping he knew who had said that only to be surprised. Marluxia was standing there, completely frozen, his mouth slightly open as if to begin talking. Quickly Ven looked at his other friends who were in a similar position.

“What’s wrong, bad dream.” He looked to the side, seeing wisps of darkness.

“Who are you?” He asked, feeling everything around his slowly chip away.

“Now that doesn’t matter, what really matters is why are you still here.” He froze.

“Don’t tell me you forget, about all your precious friends. Poor, Skuld, Ephemera, Strelitzia, Marluxia and, well Brain’s not your friends anymore is he.”

“Shut up.” He yelled. The shadows laughed.

“How would Skuld and Marluxia feel, knowing you’re so close yet prefer to stay here, instead of looking for them.”

“Shut up!” The world chipped.

“Oh and lets not forget poor, poor Ephemera and Strelitzia, for all you know they could be dead, now wouldn’t that be a shame.”

“SHUT UP!” Everything shattered. Ven felt himself fall, the ground beneath him break into millions of bits. He looked at his friends, their faces frozen. Brain’s eyes looked down, his mouth smirking.

\---------------------------

Ven woke up. He shot up; his breath ragged. Sitting in the makeshift bed he took deep breaths, willing the tears in his eyes to leave. He looked at his hands, the small nicks and cuts he had gathered over the years still present. He looked out the window. It was a new day. Getting up he put on his clothes pausing at the door.  
“How would Skuld and Marluxia feel, knowing you’re so close yet prefer to stay here, instead of looking for them.”  
He shook his head. He couldn’t help them, not like this, not when he felt so weak. He had to get stronger, strong enough to protect his friends from the darkness. He opened the door. He had training to do.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been over a week since the ‘Xemnas’ incident and everyone had settled into a comfortable routine. Aqua and Terra had picked up their work, putting more into Eraqus’s old project. Axel had come to work with them, helping them with all his knowledge from his time under the Organisation. Riku and Kairi would come over when they could, stating that they were on summer vacation anyway so they were free most of the time. The merpeople continued their magic training under Naminé and Ven. It had been slow going in the beginning but after reaching a certain point the lessons became more detailed and complex. They all trained together, with Ven teaching them how to use their magic in an offensive manner, while Naminé showed them more neutral magic such as healing.

They were out in the back of Departure Lab, it was an offensive day, with the group each taking turns. Riku and Kairi were watching, Kairi shouting support to whoever she felt like. The current match was Roxas vs Xion, showing off the difference of opposite affinities. It was still early in the day, the group having left Ven to sleep in. Roxas and Xion stood opposite each other, waiting for Naminé’s signal.

“Begin.”

The two sprung at each other, their toy swords in hand. Ven had said that weapons made it easier to channel their abilities when beginning. The two had similar stances, with Roxas holding a more offensive stance. Roxas rushed in, coating one of his toy daggers in light before swinging it at Xion. She blocked, jumping back and concentrating on shooting out small pellets of darkness. She got it off, following the orbs towards Roxas. He blocked, hitting some of the pellets knocking them back at Xion. He then focused on his light. Spinning his blades, he rushed Xion, summoning beams of light around them. Xion dodged, sinking into her shadow. She followed the shadows on the ground appearing from Roxas’s own shadow, she went for a strike but Roxas reversed, getting out of the way.

The two paused for a moment, grinning at each other.

“Oh Ven, about time you woke up sleepy head.” Kairi said. Everyone looked at the door. Ven stood there looking at Kairi in surprise. Realising everyone’s eyes were on him he laughed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Guess I was out for a while huh.” Sora ran up to Ven.

“Ven you missed Roxas and Xion’s fight!” Sora exclaimed. Ven laughed at that.

“Sorry about that.” Roxas shrugged.

“It’s fine, it’s not like it’s gonna be the only one we ever do.” Ven grinned.

“Well you’re not wrong.” Suddenly he looked at Sora.

“Sora, fight me.” Everyone looked at Ven in surprise.

“You sure?” He asked. Ven nodded.

Roxas and Xion stood back, handing Sora and Ven their toy weapons. Ven took one sword, gripping it behind him. Sora took a simple wooden pole, getting ready to fight. The two stood facing each other. Naminé looked at the two for a second.

“Begin.” Ven took off, wind beneath his feet giving him more speed. Sora stood in preparation; his staff raised to block. Ven swung, doing a flurry attack. Sora held his ground, instantly jumping away from Ven when he finished. Focusing on his affinities Sora shot of a few fireballs, each honing in on Ven. Ven summoned strong winds to knock away the fireballs, hitting away the ones he missed. Sora took the chance to charge up a stronger shot, calling small icicles he shot them at Ven. Ven dodged some, hitting the last few to simply destroy them.

“Come on Sora, I know you can do better than that.” Sora grinned.

“Well how about this!” Summoning a large ball of water Sora sent it flying at Ven, freezing it as it got closer. Ven watched as the sphere gained large spikes as it gained distance. Grinning Ven ran at it. He heard people shouting at him yet he kept going, adrenaline pumping through him.

“-poor Ephemera and Strelitzia, for all you know they could be dead- “

Ven froze a moment, fear chilling him to his core. Suddenly an anger he rarely felt welled up. What did that voice know, he would find them, no matter what. He wasn’t giving up on them, they were his friends. Digging deep Ven summoned all the raging winds from within him. Looking at the spiked ice ball he yelled throwing the storm of emotions within him at it. A large tornado appeared, rushing at the ball. It easily picked it up, throwing it around till the ball broke into millions of pieces, snow raining over the group. The wind soon faded, leaving only a soft breeze. Everyone looked at Ven, who was panting. It had been some time since he had cast a spell that large, the last time being the Great War.

Sora ran up to Ven, his staff laying on the ground. Ven looked at Sora, only partially recognising the words he was saying. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Ven?” It was Aqua, he wondered when she had arrived.

“Ven are you ok?” She asked. He looked at everyone. They were all looking at him.

“Sorry, I guess I used up a bit too much mana.” He laughed slightly.

“That was so cool Ven!” Sora exclaimed, excitement radiating off him.

“Yeah, that was one hell of a spell.” Axel said. Ven smiled.

“Sora your ice ball was pretty impressive.” Sora looked at him in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it takes most people years to be able to use that much mana and still be in fighting form.”  
Sora smiled, a slight blush on his face. Riku slung an arm over Sora.

“Good going Sora.” Sora grinned.

“Be careful, his ego can only get so big.” Roxas added, grinning. Sora looked at Roxas in betrayal.

“Come on Rox.” Roxas laughed. The two began chasing each other, Roxas running half-heartedly from Sora. Aqua shook her head fondly.

“Ok everyone, it’s lunch time anyway and you all need to get out.” Everyone perked up at that.

“Where are we going?” Xion asked. She had been enjoying human food, Axel taking every chance he got to finally introduce her to food he would talk about.

“It’s a new place called le bistro; I hear the chef is really good.”

\-----------------------------------------

After eating the group made their way to the destiny shores, the merpeople liked going there, simply to be near the ocean. They never transformed, but simply enjoyed the feeling of water on their legs. Sora, Riku and Kairi ran into the ocean, splashing each other with water. Xion and Naminé were shell hunting, finding small colourful shells to keep. Roxas, Axel and Terra were throwing around a frisbee at intense speeds. Aqua and Ven were sitting on the beach, a picnic blanket under them.

“You can join in if you want.” Aqua said. Ven looked at her before shaking his head. She looked at him a moment before looking back at everyone.

“Aqua, do – do you think my friends would be mad at me for just, being here with everyone. You know instead of looking for them.” Ven asked, looking at his hands. Aqua paused for a moment before placing a hand on Ven’s head.

“I don’t know, but I know I wouldn’t be mad if you were taking time to just live, it’s been 400 years, I’m sure they can understand a day or two more.” Aqua smiled. “Were you thinking of Marluxia?” Ven nodded.

“I, I don’t know where he or Skuld are, and I haven’t found anything about Ephemera and Strelitzia. Even 400 years ago I couldn’t find Strelitzia, so how would I find her now.” Aqua looked at Ven, a small frown on her face.

“Well you do have a clue on Skuld right, after all Axel said she had been in the ocean last time he saw her, maybe she’s in an underwater city.” Ven looked at Aqua.

“Besides, you’re not alone Ven, we’re all here with you.” Ven looked up at Terra, who had made his way over, in surprise.

“Yeah, thanks guys.” He smiled. Terra sat next to him, placing Ven in between him and Aqua. The two began talking about their work, Ven tried unfocusing simply content on watching his friends play. Even if he couldn’t find his old friends, his family he had new friends. Yet the voice still haunted him.

“- why are you still here. - ”

“How would Skuld and Marluxia feel, knowing you’re so close yet prefer to stay here- “

“- poor Ephemera and Strelitzia, for all you know they could be dead, now wouldn’t that be a shame.”

He knew what he had to do.

\----------------------------

Ansem had never understood why Xemnas loved Twilight town so, placing his company in such a remote area. Yet the further Ansem dug the more surprised he was. To think such a simple and insignificant town held so many secrets. He wanted to know more. He had everything from Xemnas’s old file, how he disposed of a family of witches in the town, of how he collected a mermaid’s call to summon more. It was interesting, yet there was more lying under the surface. Why had both Xemnas and Eraqus, two with ties to the merfolk set up in this town. He researched the town history, seeing how it stopped after a certain point. This town by all accounts didn’t exist 400 years ago.

He had to know more. So, he went to the town for the second time. Looking around the town, truly looking showed much. He could see how the air practically sung with high concentration of magic, energy seeping off everything. The human’s in the town weren’t much, their base resistance to magic so low it was pitiful. Yet there was something in the air, a feeling he couldn’t truly put a name to. So he followed it. 

He soon found himself in front of a lab, the building looked clean, yet the large windows out front showed it to be empty. He could see the magic still lifting itself from the building. It had been recent. There were all types of magic, he could feel how the sun felt hotter, the light stinging his skin. How the shade of the trees was far more healing than it should be. How the air felt cold, a chilling breeze that spoke in volumes. He could feel the emotions tied to the magic.

Walking the perimeter of the building he soon found himself at the back. There was still specks of green energy floating, as he touched one he felt the emotions left over. He felt the anger, the rage and sorrow. Who ever had cast this spell was quite powerful, or knew how to use their magic. The other magic wasn’t as strong, it held power he could tell but it was rough, not fined down into the honed blade of the wind magic. Chuckling he turned around, walking away from the magic that called out in pain. He would be back soon, when they had returned.


	3. Chapter 3

Naminé enjoyed the beach, watching the waves gently lap against the sand. How the sea breeze felt cool on her skin. She was currently standing in the ocean, watching Xion collect different coloured shells. Xion was focused on the shells, combing the shores to find the brightest looking shells. Naminé watched how Xion’s eyes lit up, how excited she looked when she found a particular shell she enjoyed, running over to Naminé to hand her the shell. Naminé had quite the collection now.

The sun had started setting and Naminé knew that they would soon have to go back. She looked back to see everyone sitting on the shore, picnic blankets spread out to form a barrier from the sand. Smiling Naminé walked up to Xion, waiting for her to look up. When Xion looked at her she smiled.

“I think we’re going back soon.” She said, Xion looked disappointed for a moment before smiling, pulling one last shell out of the ocean. Grabbing her hand Xion dragged Naminé back to the others.

“Come on, I wanna show Roxas and Axel our shells.” Naminé laughed following behind. The two ran up to the group, Aqua welcoming them over. Taking a seat next to Roxas, Naminé noticed that Axel and Terra were nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d Axel go.” Xion asked Roxas. He looked at her a moment.

“Oh right, he said he was getting the ‘icing on the cake’ whatever that means, he took off with Terra.” As he said that Naminé heard the tell-tale signs of their return. Axel had a plastic bag hanging off his arm, a large grin on his face, Terra was walking beside him, also holding a similar bag. The two walked up to the group, Axel practically bursting at the seams with excitement.

“So you finally going to explain what the ‘icing on the cake’ is?” Roxas asked, Sora nodding beside him. Axel laughed, taking him place on the blankets.

“Well I promised Xion that I’d get her this once she got out, and it’s far better to eat with friends.” Putting his hand into the bag he pulled out a popsicle. Opening them up he and Terra handed them around to the group.

“Sea-salt ice cream, a classic.” Axel explained. Naminé looked at the bar. It was a light blue, and when she took a bite, she was surprised to find it had a salty taste to it. Xion looked just as surprised.

“It’s salty, but sweet.” Axel grinned.

“So, you like it.” Xion and Roxas nodded.

“Where did you get this?” Roxas asked.

“Old man Scrooge sells them at Le Bistro during summer, they’re pretty popular.” Axel explained. Naminé took another bite, slowly tuning out Axel’s explanation of ice cream, she sat content, resting her head on Xion’s shoulder. Xion paused a moment before moving to make it more comfortable, wrapping an arm around Naminé.

“Bet you don't know why the sun sets red.” Roxas, Sora and Xion shook their heads.

“You see, light is made up of lots of colours. And out of all those colours, red is the one that travels the farthest.”

“I’m surprised you even know that.” Riku said. Axel looked at him in betrayal.

“I’ll have you know I know tons of things.”

“Oh yeah, name one other ‘thing’.” Axel paused for a moment, before sighing dramatically.

“Well when you put me on the spot like that I don’t.” Everyone laughed, Axel joining in. Soon everyone settled down, silently soaking in simply being with their friends. Suddenly Ven stood up.

“Ven?” Terra asked. Ven looked out at the ocean, sighing for a moment.

“I- I have to go.” Everyone looked at him in surprise.

“What do you mean?!” Sora asked, walking over to Ven.

“I have to find my friends, they’re out there somewhere and I-I can’t just sit here not doing anything.”  
Aqua stood up, placing a hand on Ven’s shoulder.

“Are you sure about this Ven?” He nodded.

“I love being with you all, but I can’t stop thinking about my friends. I need to find them, to make sure they’re safe.” Ven smiled. “Besides, when I find them, I want you all to meet them.” Terra placed a hand on Ven’s head, ruffling his hair.

“We’ll always be supporting you Ven, don’t forget that ok.”

“Yeah, if you need any help we’ll be here!” Sora added.

“When you see us again, we’ll be so strong you won’t even recognise us.” Xion stated, grinning. Ven smiled. Everyone crowded around him, pulling them all into a large group hug. They all stood there, enjoying the contact. Eventually they all let go, standing around each other. They continued talking, enjoying the moments they still had together. Eventually the sun had completely set, the moon rising over the horizon. Everyone said their goodbyes reluctantly, watching as Ven walked away towards the secret cave. The group waited before heading home, splitting up with Riku and Kairi, then Axel. Aqua and Terra led the merpeople to Departure Labs, then head to their apartment.

\----------------------------

Early the next day Terra woke up. He had been having a hard time sleeping, worry about Ven and his friends. Ven leaving made him realise how their new friends, all the merpeople would eventually leave, returning to their own home underwater. There was a sense of loss with the thought, but he kept reminding himself that they would always see each other again. Aqua moved, looking at Terra from under the covers.

“Terra?” She asked, sleep making her voice rough. Terra laughed softly, stroking her hair back.

“I’m gonna go on a walk, go back to sleep.” Aqua nodded, making herself comfortable again. Terra waited, simply listening to her breathing even out before he got up, putting on his work out clothes. He went through his usual morning routine, eating some breakfast and cleaning his teeth. Once ready he put his phone in his pocket, grabbed some keys and head out.

Once out he decided to go towards the shore, running against the waves. He let the sounds of the waves calm him down. Soon he came to a clearing, the path leading him towards the forest surrounding Departure Labs. Deciding to jog through the forest he followed the path, letting him feet take him. As he jogged, he started slowing down, noticing how quiet it was. He couldn’t hear the birds chirping, or the distant noise of the waves. Everything was silent, and wrong. Looking around he looked, trying to see what was wrong. He froze, eyes locking with another man.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” The man said. He walked towards Terra, slowly leaving the shadows of the trees. He wore a clean-cut black suit, his white collar buttoned halfway. His piercing yellow eyes staring at Terra.

“Ansem.” Terra recognised the face; he had seen him once back when Xehanort had tried to get him to join him. Ansem smiled.

“It has been a long time, Terra.” Terra looked at him, holding his ground.

“What are you doing here?” Ansem grin widened.

“I was asked to look into the death of my brother, you must understand how it is, to lose a loved one. The real question is what are you doing.” Terra froze.

“I was going on a jog.” He felt himself straighten up. Ansem walked towards him.

“I must admit, I’m surprised for someone with no true magic affinity, you sure had lots of darkness swirling around you.” Terra looked at him in surprise.

“I could help you with that if you want.” Suddenly Ansem’s hands lit up, darkness covering them. Dark chains shot out, wrapping around Terra. Terra struggled, trying to tear the chains off him, he felt the tips stab at him, sinking into him. His vision blurred, struggling to keep awake he fought back against the darkness.

“There is no point struggling, for in the end, every heart return to the darkness whence it came. You see, darkness is the heart's true essence." Ansem grinned. Terra fell onto his knee, the darkness taking over him. His vision faded, till he passed out. Ansem watched as Terra stopped moving before standing up, the light no longer in his eyes, darkness seeping off his body. Retracting the chains Ansem smirked.

“Come, we have people to collect.”

\------------------------------

Aqua woke up surprised to see that Terra still wasn’t back. It was later in the morning; Terra having been awake hours before. He normally was back by now. Walking around their apartment she couldn’t find any sign of him returning. Assuming he must still be out she went through her morning routine, wondering if he would return. Leaving a note on the kitchen counter explaining where she had gone, she collected her things and head off to Departure Labs. She still had work to do.

Driving to the labs she didn’t see any sign of Terra, she thought of stopping off to ask someone but decided that he might be at the Lab already. Once she pulled up, she saw the Axel’s car was already there, locking her car she walked into the Lab. Axel was at the front, talking to Roxas about something. He perked up when he saw her.

“Hey Aqua, I’m surprised to see you so late today.” She laughed slightly.

“I’m not late, I just slept in.”

“Sure, sure, but let me tell you, I wasn’t expecting to be the first one here.” Aqua froze.

“Terra hasn’t arrived?” She asked cautiously. Axel shook his head.

“Nope, thought he would have come with you.”

“He left to go on a run earlier this morning, but it’s been hours since then.” Aqua bit her lip. Where could he be.

“Maybe the others know.” Axel suggested. Roxas shrugged.

“Worth a shot.”  
The three walked to the others, Riku and Kairi talking to them. Aqua waved as they entered.

“Aqua, you ok?” Kairi asked, running up. Aqua internally laughed, of course she noticed.

“Have any of you seen Terra, I haven’t seen him for a few hours and I’m worried.” Everyone looked at each other.

“Sorry Aqua, he never came here.” Sora answered. Kairi and Riku shook their heads. Where could he have gone.

“How about we ask around town. Someone must have seen him.” Xion suggested. Everyone nodded, quickly heading out. They split up into two groups, asking the people of the town, no one could give them any good information, at most some mentioned that he had run by but kept going. Soon the two groups met up at the beach, the last place he had been seen heading. Aqua felt like tearing her hair out. She had tried texting him, but he hadn’t answered her.

“Sorry we couldn’t find anything.” Sora said, looking at Aqua in worry. She smiled softly, petting his head.

“It’s ok, he’s tough. He’ll come back.” She hoped.

“Yeah, nothing can stop Terra.” Riku added. Aqua smiled at that.

“Well we best head back, who knows maybe he’s there wondering where we are.” Axel said. They all headed back. They took the longer route, following the ocean line till they found the main path. They still hadn’t seen anything to show Terra had been there, it was like he vanished suddenly, the idea leaving a hole in Aqua’s chest. Eventually they made it back, there wasn’t a new car, and no one was inside. She tried calling him again, but his phone went straight to voicemail. This wasn’t right, he never did this, not without letting her know. Suddenly she had a thought.

“Naminé, can you do the same thing Ven did to find you?” She asked. Everyone looked at Naminé. She looked down.

“Sorry Aqua, but what Ven did only works on magic users, it’s more like looking for an affinity than a person.” Everyone looked disappointed.

“That’s ok Naminé, it was worth asking anyway. I can always call Zack if he’s gone for too long.” She would find him. She had to.

\----------------

Outside the building a shadow watched them. He smirked.  
“Shall we.”


	4. Chapter 4

Terra had been gone all day, the group had set out again, some staying at the labs while others searched the town, still there was no sign of Terra and with each passing hour Aqua felt more and more worried. She could tell the others were concerned not just for Terra but for her as well, but she put on a brave face not wanting to add more stress to the situation. She had gone back to their apartment, to see if he had come back, yet her note laid untouched at the table, and none of her neighbours had seen him.

The sun had begun setting, and despite telling everyone it was fine, they all stayed at the lab with her. Riku and Kairi called their parents explaining where they would be, and Axel left and came back with blankets, movies and pizza. The group bunkered in, letting just the simple notion of being together help them relax.

“Aqua, I’m sorry.”

Aqua jolted in surprise, taking deep breaths as she tried to ground herself. It was late, the clock telling Aqua that it was just past 3 in the morning. The moon was high in the sky, lighting up the outside. Aqua looked at her friends, all who were still asleep. Axel was lying on the floor, Roxas using his stomach as a pillow. Xion was next to Naminé, the two girls cuddled under blankets. Riku was leaning against the couch, Sora and Kairi on both sides. It made Aqua smile. 

Standing up quietly she rearranged the blankets, making sure to cover everyone. Leaving the room, she made her was to the small staff kitchen, grabbing a glass of water. She rubbed her eyes. The voice from her dream, it had been Terra, she knew it yet there was something about how he had spoken, the hurt and sorrow in his voice that left Aqua rattled. It had felt more real than a simple dream.

‘Snap’

She paused, looking around the room. She had heard something, all of her stress putting her on high alert. Putting down the drink she walked towards the entrance, grabbing one of the toy swords on the way. It wasn’t a real weapon, but it was better than nothing. As she neared the door she stopped, quickly ducking out of view. Someone was there. She looked at the entrance, trying to make out the figure. They were tall, the moon light shadowing their face. They were wearing a skin tight shirt, with long track pants. She squinted, trying to get a better look at the figure, suddenly it hit her. Leaving her hiding place she sprinted towards the door, running towards the man. Pulling open the door she dropped the toy sword, wrapping her arms around Terra.

“Terra! Where were you, we were all worried sick about you.” She let go, looking at Terra. He was looking down, no hint of emotion on his face.

“Terra?” Suddenly he turned around, running towards the forest. Aqua cried in surprise, calling out to him before quickly following in pursuit. Aqua followed him through the forest, as he took quick and sharp turns. He never seemed out of sight though, and the further they ran the more worried Aqua felt. She shouldn’t have just run off, not without at least telling someone, but with how impossible it had been to find him today she wasn’t taking the chance. Soon Terra stopped, standing in the middle of an opening. Aqua walked in, slowly catching her breath.

“Terra, what wrong?” She asked, trying not to let the fear she felt reach her voice. Suddenly something behind Terra moved. From his shadow a figure emerged, their long white hair unfolding itself. The figure walked next to Terra, placing a hand on his shoulder. Terra didn’t even blink.

“Who are you, what did you do to Terra?!” Aqua cried, the man chuckled.

“I am Ansem, I do believe this is our first meeting, Aqua.” Aqua looked at him in surprise.

“You know my name?” He smiled.

“Of course, it is in my best interest to know the names of people who bested my brother. Although this isn’t my first meeting with Terra.”

“What do you want with him?” He chuckled.

“Simple, he was the piece I needed to reach all of you. Father wishes to speak with you all.” Aqua froze.

“Well you’re not getting to them.” Ansem grinned.

“Very well.” With a wave of his hand Terra snapped up, his eyes locked onto Aqua. She faltered a moment but quickly pulled herself together, she wouldn’t let Ansem get away with this.

\-------------------------------------------------

Something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what. Opening his eyes Axel blearily looked around the room, counting everyone in his head. 1,2,3,4,5,6, … Opening his eyes more he looked to where Aqua had been. He sighed. Carefully moving Roxas off him (When had that happened) he got up, walking around the lab. It was quiet, the small digital clocks around telling him that it was only 3:40am. Soon he saw a light, he walked into the kitchen only seeing a half-drunk glass of water. Looking around he saw no signs of Aqua. Continuing his search he made his way to the front, shivering from the cold night air. The front door was open. Walking closer he saw that one of the toy swords was laying on the floor stopping the door from closing. Something was very wrong.

Quickly he made his way back to the cuddle pile, switching on the light and grabbing everyone’s shoes. They needed to move. Some of the sleeping kids rose, blinking at the sudden light but he kept on moving, grabbing a few spare jackets from the lab.

“Axel?” Xion asked, her voice still rough from sleep.

“Sorry to wake you all but we’ve got a problem.”

“What happened.” Kairi asked.

“Aqua’s missing.”

Soon everyone was awake, putting on their shoes and some coats as Axel explained what he had seen. There were some worried looks but everyone was ready to find her. Once ready they all left, huddled together to not get lost.

“Where do you think she went?” Sora asked, still only partially awake. Roxas was by his side, alert enough for the both of them.

“Maybe she saw Terra?” Naminé suggested.

“And what, followed him?” Riku questioned. Naminé just shrugged. Suddenly Kairi’s eyes lit up.

“I know, Aqua would have her phone on her, we can track it.” The merpeople looked at her in confusion.

“How?” Sora asked. Kairi grinned.

“Well, I had Aqua put an app on her phone that tells me where her phone is, she downloaded it earlier today.” Quickly pulling out her phone Kairi logged in, swiping over to the app. It was a simple one, a list of names that Axel only half recognised. Finally, Kairi clicked on Aqua’s name, letting the app find the signal. After a few seconds the app locked in, showing Aqua deep in the forest, on the more inland side.

“She’s in the forest?” Axel asked.

“Let’s go!” Sora cheered, more awake.  
The group made their way through, following the nav to Aqua’s position. They were close by the app’s standard, the thick forest making it hard to really see anything. Suddenly they stopped, Axel waving at them to hide.

“… wishes to speak with you all.” A pause.

“Well you’re not getting to them.” It was Aqua.

“Very well.” The group looked at each other, none sure about the other voices owner, they heard the sound of someone running and quickly the realised that someone was coming at Aqua. Nodding the group sprang out, Sora and Roxas stopping the attacker from hitting Aqua. The two froze when they realised who was attacking.  
Terra was standing there, his fist centimetres from Sora and Roxas. His eyes were lifeless, as dark smoke poured out of his body. There were small purple chains wrapped around his arms and legs, the points stabbed into his joints.

“Aqua!” Kairi rushed to her side, checking her over. Aqua looked at everyone in surprise before smiling.

“How did you all find me?” Kairi grinned, waving around her phone.

“Told you that app would be useful.” Aqua smiled before turning back to Terra, who still hadn’t moved.

“Everyone, get away from Terra, Ansem did something to him.” Everyone looked at Aqua in surprise.

“Well then, it looks like everyone is here, or is one missing.” Ansem said looking over the group.

“Let Terra go!” Sora yelled. Ansem laughed.

“Why would I do that.” Axel gritted his teeth; this guy was getting on his nerves already.

“Fine then, we’ll just make you.” Running at the man Axel quickly pulled out two small Chakma’s, with practised ease he threw them at Ansem, who quickly dodged out the way.

“Xion, you Rox and Naminé try figure out how to fix Terra, we’ll deal with Ansem.” The three nodded. The three ran at Terra, trying to separate him from Ansem, Terra followed them, his movements ridged. Axel came beside Aqua handing her a small knife. She nodded before charging at Ansem. Ansem smiled quickly surrounding himself in dark spikes. Axel threw another smaller dagger at one, causing it to explode, lightning and darkness coming off it. Handing Riku a knife, Axel ran for his Chakma’s, quickly swiping them from the ground.

“Where do you keep getting these?” Riku asked, gripping the knife as he ran at Ansem. Axel laughed.

“I was an assassin, better to be over prepared than not at all.” Axel swung his blades at Ansem, forcing him to keep dodging, suddenly Sora came from behind, swinging his staff at Ansem. Ansem ducked, sinking into the shadows he appeared away from the small group. Gathering darkness in his hands he stuck his hand out, letting balls of darkness float above the group. Suddenly the balls started shooting beams of light at them, everyone dodging or reflecting the attack. 

Meanwhile Roxas was holding off Terra with Xion, while Naminé tried to figure out what was wrong. Terra had produced a blade made of darkness, which Roxas used to his advantage. Coating his daggers in light he swung at Terra, giving him no time to strike back. Xion stood to the side, waiting for Roxas’s combo to end.

“I’ve got it, those chains on Terra are controlling him, if we can get them off him, he’s be free. They’re made of darkness, so Roxas try hitting them with your light, Xion see if you can absorb the darkness from them, it might make Ansem’s control weaker. “

The two nodded, backing up from Terra. Looking at one another the two grinned, Roxas ran at Terra. The two clashed, their blows surprisingly fast for Terra. Xion focused on the darkness coming off Terra, trying to feel the difference from her darkness and Ansem’s. While hers felt safe and warm his felt cold and twisted. She could feel the pricks of thorns on her skin, how the cold made her eyes water. All she felt from Ansem’s darkness was loneliness and want. Holding onto the feeling she grabbed at it, pulling it into a bundle of string. She imagined her own darkness, how comforting it felt, like she was never truly alone in the world. She felt the other darkness writhe in anguish, her darkness slowly engulfing Ansem’s. Soon it was only her darkness.  
She felt to the floor, supporting herself on her knees. Naminé ran to her side, gently placing an arm on her shoulder.

“You ok?” She asked. Xion smiled.

“I’m fine, just tired. How’s Roxas.” The two looked at Roxas, who was currently dodging the dark pellets that Terra had shot at him, he rolled out of the way, using the momentum to run at Terra slashing at one of the chains. It broke off, Terra’s right arm falling limp. Terra scowled, sinking into the floor as he dashed at Roxas, Roxas dodged out of the way just in time as Terra jumped up his left arm covered in darkness, forming a large clawed hand. Taking the chance Roxas slashed at Terra’s other arm, successfully breaking the chain. Terra’s arm went limp.

Dashing at Roxas Terra came for a kick, hitting Roxas square in the stomach, Roxas rolled back, a hand grabbing at his chest. Standing up Roxas dove, sliding at Terra he left out a wave of light, aimed straight for the chains on Terra’s legs. Terra dropped, lying on the floor. The three walked over to him.

“Is it over?” Roxas asked, panting. Naminé shook her head.

“There’s still chains in his heart and mind, we need to get rid of them.”

“How do we do that?” Xion asked.

“If you two focus your elements at me, I can use it to break the chains, it should get Terra back.” The two nodded. Focusing the three surrounded Terra, letting their magic float over him, into Naminé. She closed her eyes trying to make a connection to his will. Finding the spark, she pulled at it, forcing the remaining chains to appear, she took the light and darkness from Roxas and Xion, turning it into a small blade. Making quick work Naminé slashed at the chains, splitting them apart. She kept slashing till they were in millions of pieces. 

Opening her eyes, she looked at Terra, who was lying on the floor. His eyes were closed, but his position looked far more natural then before.

“We did it!”

Aqua looked over at the three, seeing Terra lying behind them all, she grinned turning towards Ansem.

“Sorry to say but your plan failed.” Ansem paused, looking at Terra.

“No matter, this encounter has shown me a lot, next time won’t be so easy.” Ansem laughed as he sunk into the shadows. Aqua made a run at him but it was too late. Looking up she was surprised to see the hints of sunlight. Everyone looked at each other wide grins on their faces. Aqua quickly ran up to Terra, stroking his messy hair. She looked at everyone.

“Thank you for the help.” She said, everyone smiled.

“That’s what friends are for.” Sora said, Kairi nodding beside him.

“Besides, Terra’s our friend too.” Riku added. The group laughed at that.

“Yeah, he is isn’t he.”

\----------------------------------------------------------

The fight had been harder then he had originally wanted, preferring to have picked them off one by one, fighting when you didn’t have all of your own magic made it harder to face of against five people at once. Sighing Ansem pulled himself together, wiping the blood from his nose. He had come too far to give up now. 

He walked with purpose, if simply facing them head on hadn’t worked then he would go for his second bet, the reason this town was so important, he would find the merfolk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg i totally forgot to update this on time. ;-;
> 
> Oh well, hope you enjoy ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Riku was tired. It had been a hard fight, and the stress over what had happened had placed a heavy weight on his shoulders. It was the next day and as Riku rose he felt his muscles ache. It hurt, the type of feeling he got when he would keep working out past his limit. Slowly sitting up he looked at his phone. The screen showed that it was 1pm, way later than he normally woke up. Putting him phone back down he looked around the room.

It was mainly empty; the others having woken up already. Aqua had refused to leave Terra’s side, staying with him in the small medical room at the lab. He could faintly hear Axel and Roxas talking, and Xion and Naminé adding in every so often. They were quiet; probably trying to not wake anyone, so Riku couldn’t make out what they were saying. Riku looked over at the remaining people in the room, Sora and Kairi. The two were cuddled up next to him, with Kairi in the middle. Riku smiled.

Sora was drooling slightly, a dopey smile on his face. Kairi’s arms were spread out, the blanket laying on her had been mostly pushed off. Her shirt had ridden up slightly, showing off her stomach. Riku laughed slightly. Looking at the two made him smile, a quiet domestic feeling washing over him. Blushing he looked away, putting his face in his hands. Shit he was so screwed.

He had always kinda liked Kairi, ever since she had kicked his ass after one of Aqua’s private lessons. But seeing Sora again had sparked something in him he hadn’t thought about for years. He remembered when he was young asking him dad about boys, his dad telling him that it was normal to like anyone. He hadn’t thought much about it since. But seeing both Sora and Kairi lying next to him made everything come to the forefront. Quickly he stood up, he could deal with these feelings later. Right now, he needed to check on Terra. Repositioning the blanket on Sora and Kairi he made his way out of the room.

Opening the door, he saw Axel and Roxas play arguing, if the smile on Roxas’s face was any indication. Xion and Naminé were sitting together, Naminé on Xion’s lap. The group stopped and looked at Riku who gave a small wave.

“Well well, look who decided to join the land of the living.” Axel smirked. Riku rolled his eyes.

“Sora and Kairi are still sleeping.” He informed them, Naminé nodded, her face flushed as she realised the position she was in.

“Terra hasn’t woken up yet.” Xion said. Riku looked at her.

“Is Aqua still with him?” Xion nodded.

“Do you think you can bring her some food, I think there’s some in the fridge.” Riku nodded. Walking away from the small group he went to the kitchen. It was small but comfortable, there were a few dishes in the sink and opening the fridge he found a half-eaten salad. Grabbing a bottle of water for himself he took out the salad, closing the fridge door. He quickly grabbed a fork and headed off to the infirmary.

Opening the door he saw Aqua, her head resting on the bed Terra was laying in. Hearing the door Aqua looked up, a tired smile on her face.

“Riku.” He smiled.

“I brought you some food.” He handed her the salad, she looked at it in surprise before smiling. Sitting up she took the fork and began eating the food. Riku went to the wall, leaning against it as he looked over Terra. He was breathing, the soft movement of his chest indicating as much. Opening his water bottle, he took a big sip.

“Do you know when he’s meant to wake up?” He asked. Aqua looked at Terra.

“Naminé said it might take a few hours, so he should wake up soon.” She looked out the small window.

“I-I shouldn’t have let Ansem get away.” She muttered. Riku looked at her in surprise.

“Are you kidding, he has weird magic abilities, the fact we won with a bunch of knives Axel had on him is pretty impressive. Besides we’ll see him again if he’s anything like Xemnas.” Aqua grimaced at that.

“I suppose so, I just don’t understand. He said that Xehanort want to see us all. But how does he know about us. Did Xigbar tell or was he just watching everything play out.” Aqua sighed. Riku walked over to her, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“Well we’re not going to just kneel over and do what he wants.” He smiled at her. She smiled back.

“Thanks, Riku.” As he opened his mouth to reply they both heard a groan. Looking at Terra the two watched as he slowly moved, his eyes opening slightly before closing them again, the light blinding him. Riku ran to the light switch turning it off to favour the light coming out the windows. Aqua grabbed Terra’s hand, holding it close.

“Terra?” She asked hopeful. He fully opened his eyes, looking over at her. He smiled slightly.

“Hey Aqua.” She laughed, tears coming to her eyes. Terra slowly moved his hand to her face, wiping away the tears.

“You’re such a girl sometimes.” He said teasingly, Aqua chuckled, a grin appearing on her face.

“That ‘cause I am one.” She teased back. Riku stood by the door, simply content with seeing Terra awake, the image of how lifeless he had looked haunting him. Terra sat up slightly, looking around.

“Where...?” He asked.

“You’re in the lab’s infirmary, you were hurt after…” Aqua looked away. Terra looked at her sadly, the memory of what happened clear on his face.

“I’m sorry Aqua.” She looked at him in surprise.

“What are you sorry for, you didn’t do anything, it was all Ansem’s fault.” She said, hissing out his name. Riku took that as a chance to walk over, pointing the water bottle at Terra. Terra looked at him a moment before taking to bottle, chugging most of it down. When he finished, he handed to bottle back to Riku a slightly guilty smile on his face.

“Sorry about that.” Riku shrugged.

“It was for you anyway.” He said. Terra smiled at him.

“I guess I worried everyone huh.” Riku shrugged, a small grin on his face.

“Everyone knew you’d be fine, after all you’re tough.” Terra laughed slightly at that.

“As tough as the earth huh.” It was an old joke between them, when Terra first explained his name’s meaning. The two of them having land related names had meant a lot to Riku who saw Terra as a role model. Riku had said the name was fitting, considering how Terra was as tough as the earth itself. Terra had simply laughed, saying that Riku was the same.

“I’ll go get everyone.” Riku said, wanting to leave Aqua and Terra a moment alone. Aqua looked grateful. Leaving the room Riku walked back to the common area. He could see everyone was together, Sora and Kairi both awake now. The group looked at him expectantly and he grinned.

“Terra’s awake.” Everyone perked up, quickly barraging Riku with questions, he answered as best he could before he simply suggest that they all just go see Terra. Everyone took the advice to heart, rushing off towards the infirmary. Axel was the only one left, content to letting the kids rush off. Riku looked at him, nudging him on the shoulder slightly. Axel smirked, nudging him back.

“Not gonna rush off?” Riku asked. Axel laughed.

“What can I say, I’m not a runner too much effort. I prefer to walk.” The two smiled.

“He’s doing ok at least.” Axel nodded.

“Good, god knows how that would affect someone. Doing things that you have no control over would suck major ass.” Riku nodded in agreement. The two walked towards the infirmary, content with banting back and forth. Eventually the two were in front of the infirmary, opening the door everyone was surrounding Terra’s bed. He was laughing at something Sora said, Roxas shaking his head. Kairi was nudging Sora, adding her own comments. Riku smiled, a dust of pink on his face. Axel grinned.

“Aw, puppy love.” Riku shoved him before walking over to the group, his face red.

\------------------------------

He was currently on a shore, close to where he believed one of the oldest mer-civilisations laid. It was bright out, but no one was near. It had taken time, pinpointing the exact location he would need to go but after some time in the town he had figured it out. To think that this simple insignificant town held the answers to his biggest question. He knew it was here, the answer to his lifelong quest. Daybreak town had to be near. He would find the truth, the true form of dark magic. 

Grinning he began to focus on himself. Standing on the shore, he allowed the darkness to surround him, pushing and pulling at him. He felt the prick of the darkness, the biting cold stabbing at his very being. Soon the darkness faded back into his shadow. Sinking into the waves Ansem grinned. He had never felt the need to do such magic but if he was to find out the true magic, he would need to go under. He looked at his waist seeing his newly formed tentacles, an octopus it was then. Focusing on his magic he pushed off, swimming in the direction of the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ansem: Pretty obvious but he's an Octopus


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a long time since he had been out alone, it made him nervous. Ven knew he didn’t have to do this alone, but this was his problem, and he needed to fix it himself. He didn’t want to drag even more people into his problem then needed. Swimming back to Atlantica filled Ven with a strange sense of nostalgia, despite it not having been that long since he had first been here. He swam through the ocean, stopping sometimes to play with the wild life, he could feel the life that radiated off them, a comforting feeling he had missed above ground.

He was close to Atlantica, feeling the magic radiating off everyone. He hadn’t thought about it much when he first came to the town, how everyone seemed to be overflowing with untapped magic stored inside them. He had just assumed that it was an effect of the lost time, but finding out it was because of no one using their magic anymore had been quite a surprise. He looked at the town in the distance, seeing the shiny bubble of magic that protected the town. It was large, a translucent colour that shined at just the right angle, he doubted anyone could tell it was there unless they were looking. Swimming up to the town he looked around. He needed to start his search.

Swimming around the town on his own was exhilarating, seeing the sights he had been interested in the first time, to simply wave and smile at the other merpeople, it was nice. Swimming around he soon found himself in front of Aerith’s house. Knocking he waited to see if she was home, he quickly heard the tell tale sounds of someone swimming over. The door swung open showing Aerith. She looked surprised.

“Ven, it’s good to see you again.” She smiled.

“Sorry to disturb you.” She quickly waved it off.

“Not at all, come on in.” She moved to the side, letting Ven in. Ven swims in, looking around. He was surprised to see Hayner, Pence and Olette sitting inside. The three look at him, their eyes lighting up.

“Ven!” Pence said, shooting up, his curled tail pushing him along. The other two swum over to him. Ven smiled, surprised they even remembered him.

“Hey, it’s good to see you all again.” He said. The three grinned.

“Hell yeah it is, what are you doing here Ven?” Hayner asked.

“I’m looking for a friend of mine, her name’s Skuld.” He told them. “But apparently she has amnesia so it’s making it a lot harder to find here.” The three looked at each other for a moment.

“Sorry Ven, we haven’t met anyone like that.” Olette said apologetically. Ven looked down a moment before looking back at them.

“That’s ok, I didn’t think it would be that easy anyway.” Pence suddenly shot up.

“I got an idea, lets go swim around town, see if anyone knows anything.” Ven looked at him in surprise, while the other two nodded.

“That’s a great idea, let’s do it.” Hayner added. The three looked at Ven, Pence and Olette looping their arms around Ven’s. With startling speed, they shot off, following Hayner, his more jagged tail pushing him in front. Ven shouted out in surprise, letting the trio lead him around town. They spent hours asking, the people of the town stopping to say hello to the group. Every person they asked gave them the same answer. Eventually it became late, Olette’s bright orange and white tail glowing in the afternoon light. The group had stopped off at a café, grabbing some dinner. Ven had said he didn’t have any money and the group had been more than happy to shout.

“So now what?” Hayner asked, his food having been finished long again. Ven looked out the window, watching the merfolk swim by.

“I guess I’ll just move on, try the next town.” The three looked at Ven.

“Well that’s just sad.” Olette said bluntly. Ven looked at her in surprise.

“Yeah, at least stay a few more days, you can stay at my place if you want.” Pence added. Hayner nodded.

“You just go here, besides who knows who will roll into town.” Ven smiled.

“Thanks guys.”

 

The next day they tried again. Swimming around town. It was slow going but eventually they ran into Squall and Cloud.

“Leon! Cloud!” Pence yelled. The two guards looked at the group before swimming over.

“Leon? I thought his name was Squall.” Ven asked Olette, she laughed slightly.

“That’s his real name but he prefers going by Leon, Sora and Rox usually ignore that.” Ven nodded at the explanation, smiling to himself. The two adults looked at the small group.

“Pence why are you yelling this time?” Leon asked. Pence chuckled bashfully.

“What do you mean this time.” He asked, causing his friends to laugh.

“You’re Ventus right?” Cloud asked. Ven looked at him, nodding.

“What brings you back to town?” Leon asked. Ven quickly explained his situation. It was the exact same thing he said every time and it was driving him crazy having to constantly ask. The two guards looked at each other before looking at Ven.

“I think someone like that came through, but it was years ago.” Leon answered.

“It was memorable ‘cause she was with a man with bandages all over his face.” Cloud added. Ven looked at them in awe.

“Do you know where they were going?” He asked. Leon thought for a moment.

“I think they were headed towards Traverse Town.” Ven smiled, excitement overflowing. He had a lead.

“Thank you!” He exclaimed, excitement taking over. The two looked at him, small grins on their faces.

“No problem kid.” Leon said. Ven pouted slightly.

“I’m 18.” He said. The group looked at him in surprise.

“You are?!” Hayner exclaimed, Pence and Olette both looked surprised.

“Why’s that such a surprise?” He asked. Cloud laughed.

“The curse of baby face, Roxas has the same issue.” Ven smiled at the thought.

Ven looked at the group, enjoying the joyful atmosphere. He had a lead, a few year-old lead but a lead nonetheless. He needed to figure out who the man was, and he hoped that the woman with him was Skuld. Suddenly he was shocked out of his musing, a chill crawling up his spine. He looked up at the barrier, seeing it shake slightly. Someone had entered, and they had help. Ven felt a hand on his shoulder, looking at the owner he saw it was Cloud. He looked concerned.

“Someone came in the barrier.” He explained. Cloud looked at him in surprise before looked at Leon. The two nodded.

“We need to move.” Leon said, quickly leading the group towards the guard HQ. Following then Ven looked around, the darkness around them was horrible, the pressure making his chest feel heavy. He knew he was swimming the slowest right then, but the darkness was like pins in his tail, refusing to let him move. Cloud had grabbed his arm, gently pulling him along. Ven was grateful, using the chance to try figure out the source. Focusing on the oppressive feeling he followed the trail. He quickly found it, hundreds of sea creatures, each with a chain of darkness clinging to their souls. He followed the chains till it led to a man. He felt the man’s magic light up as he got close. He snapped his eyes open.

Looking around he realised they were near the gate, the one he had used to come into the town from Radiant Garden. Cloud had let go of him, with Hayner, Pence and Olette all surrounding him, each with worried looks on their faces. When they saw him open his eyes they all lit up, all speaking over each other in a mess of words.

“Where did Leon and Cloud go?” He asked, feeling worry cling to him.

“They went to get the report, it sounds like someone showed up with an army.” Pence explained. Ven looked at him in shock.

“They’re going to the swarm?” He asked. The three nodded. “We need to stop them, they’ll be killed or worse.” They three looked at him in shock.

“Ven we can’t do anything, we don’t have weapons.” Hayner stated. Ven looked at them for a moment before sighing.

“You all need to leave, this is big and we’ll need help. Weapons won’t do anything against this, this is a magic battle and no one in this town can use magic.” Well not many people.

“We can’t just leave our home, besides where would we go?” Olette asked. Ven looked at them.

“You need to find Roxas and Sora. They can help.”

“Rox and Sora? What do you mean?” Pence asked.

“They’ve been learning magic with a witch and another merperson. And humans have weapons that might be effective.” The three looked at Ven in shock.

“Rox and Sora know magic?!” Hayner exclaimed. Ven groaned slightly, he didn’t have time to explain everything.

“Do you have something that ties you to Roxas or Sora?” He asked. The three looked at him weirdly a moment before Olette pulled out a small glass bead, the two pulling out their own version.

“These beads are from a trophy we won, Rox has a blue version.” She said. Ven nodded, it would work. Focusing on the beads he felt the inherent magic trapped in the beads. Opening the dam he let the magic free, flowing from the bead over to the other beads, using the feeling he followed the connection to the one Roxas had, opening it up as well. Tying the magic together he focused on the three, making a faint glowing line appear in front of them. He heard Olette gasp. He looked at them.

“Follow the line, it’s your connection to Roxas, find him and get him to help.” The three looked at each other before nodding. Ven lead them over to the gate, the link slowly fading from his own vision. He reached the gate, making sure to stay hidden from the swarm.

“Ok, only you three can see the connection, but when you get close to Roxas he will start to see it. Use the link to call him.” They nodded before swimming off. Ven waited for them to become small dots in the distance before swimming towards the darkness. He had to protect the town.

\------------------------------------

Once he made it to the main gate, he looked at the scene in front of him. The creatures were coated in darkness, the dark sludge oozing off them. In the middle of it all was a man, his long black tentacles holding him in place. He had long silver hair and piercing yellow eyes. Ven swum at him. Focusing on the currents he gathers the winds of the waves, pushing it at the man. The man shouted in surprise, looking at Ven.

“Well well, I didn’t expect to find one of you here. No matter, it makes my life easier.” The man swam at him. The two fought, trading magic blow for magic blow. Ven heated up the water, using the air from nearby steam vents. The man gathered darkness from his own shadow, shooting them out as pellets. The two stood facing each other.

“Who are you?!” Ven yelled. The man chuckled.

“I am Ansem, and I have come here seeking the lost city of Daybreak town.” Ven froze at the name. Ansem noticed.

“You know of it.” It wasn’t a question.

“So what, it’s gone lost 400 years ago.” Ven spat out, grief in his voice. Ansem grinned.

“But you know where it was, where it is. You will tell me.” Ven glared at him.

“Never.” Cloud swum up to him, looking at Ven.

“You’ll need this.” He said handing Ven a short sword. Ven nodded at him, watching as Cloud swam back into the fray, swinging his own buster sword at an enemy. Leon was beside him, slashing at the creatures with his gunblade. Ven darted forwards at Ansem, swinging his short sword at him. He held it backwards, swinging rapidly putting pressure on Ansem. Ansem deflected the hits with a dark shield, letting the shield explode at Ven’s last hit.

The explosion knocked Ven back, which Ansem took the chance to charge. Creating a blade of pure darkness Ansem swung at Ven, causing Ven to block. Ansem kept swinging, causing Ven to go on the defensive. Ven added magic to his blade, wind surrounding it, quickly he kept swinging it at Ansem’s darkness sword. The two elements collided, causing darkness to fly around, the wind blowing it in different directions. The two swam back looking at each other.

Ven was getting tired. It had been some time since he had used so much magic so rapidly, that coupled with all the magic used to track Roxas had left him rather drained. Ansem on the other hand looked fine, despite the dark chains that shot out of him. Ven had a feeling that no one could see the chains. Maybe it was a magic thing, but the magic used felt old even by his standards. Something that Brain or one of the Foretellers would have used.

“Why do you still resist?” Ansem asked, his deep voice full of confidence. He could tell who was winning.

“If I don’t then who knows what you’ll do to this town, or the humans.” Ansem looked at him in surprise.

“You can tell?”

“You don’t swim quite right, the way you move is more animalistic then most merpeople. Besides I can tell that darkness isn’t your only affinity.” Ansem looked at Ven.

“Interesting, there are few who are so knowledgeable about magic.” Ven glared. Ansem laughed, holding his arms up. Crossing his arms the creatures around him swam over, surrounding him and Ven. Ven looked at him in surprise.

“Submit.”

Ansem threw one of his hands out, letting darkness shoot out of it. The darkness surrounded Ven, trying desperately to chain Ven. Ven struggled, using his own magic to try push the darkness away. Suddenly he felt a chain stab is hand, wrapping around his wrist. Screaming in pain he dug deep inside himself, desperation crawling up his throat. He couldn’t lose now, he needed to find his friends, protect his family. As he felt the chains wrap around him he closed his eyes. This couldn’t be the end.

Darkness shot out of him, one he barely recognised. He felt the chains dissolve, the new darkness wrapping around him. He felt a comfort he had long lost, the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, someone leading him through the forest when he was lost. He knew this darkness, it was Brain’s. He passed out.

\------------------------------------------

Ansem watched as his darkness was flung off the boy, dissolving against the ancient darkness that spilled out. He watched as it covered him, coating him in a suit of armour as dark as the night. Ansem swore. He watched as his creatures were destroyed, three merpeople swimming into the circle.

“VEN!” The woman yelled. She swam up to him, wrapping the two in a protective magic barrier. The other two, one blond and one brunette stood in front of the barrier, their blades raised. Ansem scoffed. Raising a hand, he watched as merpeople began to rise, his darkness seeping from them. Their own magic fuelling his. The three merpeople looked on in horror.

“What did you do to them!” The brunette yelled; his sword raised. Ansem laughed.

“They had become one with the darkness, as all should.” He looked at the boy.

“Give me the boy, and you shall join them, painlessly.” The blond scoffed.

“Yeah right.” The two charged at him, he rolled his eyes, simply allowing other merpeople to fight for him. The two hesitated for a moment before continuing onwards. Soon they were overpowered and restrained, their weapons taken from them. Some of the merpeople had surrounded the barrier, simply grabbing it. They may not be able to get it but it was still mobile, it was simply a matter of time. Ansem looked at the castle.

“Let’s move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, originally i hadn't planned for these three to have such existing roles, but here they are. So enjoy their tails!
> 
> Olette: Clown fish  
> Hayner: Stonefish  
> Pence: Seahorse


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a slow couple of days, everyone trying to recover after Ansem’s attack. It had thrown everyone of balance and everyone was taking it differently. Terra always had someone by him, a protective aura coming from everyone. Riku and Kairi started joining in on the magic fighting lessons, wanting to learn how to defend against magic. Aqua started training them all in fighting, what to do if you didn’t have a weapon on you. Axel also helping teach how to sneak or get in sneak attacks.

The rest kept up their magic training, constantly swapping who they fought against, and trying different techniques constantly. Roxas was trying to learn as many light spells as he could, practically burning through Naminé’s magic books. He had to become strong if he was going to protect his friends. It had surprised him how much Terra disappearing had affected him, making him feel almost happy inside, knowing he could like humans. It made it a lot easier to know that it was his own choice, not something he was told to feel, told to like he liked Terra ‘cause they were friends human or otherwise.

They were all out on a walk, Terra wanting to actually do something and Aqua quickly turned it into a training / picnic trip. Aqua had a woven basket, filled with goods she and Riku had made. Roxas had seen how excited Sora had been at the thought of eating one of Riku’s treats. Axel was holding a few blankets, all rolled up and sticking out of a bag, despite how lazy Axel was he sure did have a ton of strength. Roxas was walking next to him, content to look at the ocean, playing with his bead in his pocket. He was glad it had stayed with him when he had transformed, it had always been something calming for him. A reminder that he had a special bond with his friends.   
He zoned out of Axel and Xion’s conversation, simply content to listen to the sound of the waves.  
Soon the sound got louder, the feeling of swimming through a current washing over him. He snapped back to reality, seeing a faint sparkle in front of him. He kept walking with the group, watching the sparkles slowly become more and more distinct. He watched the line, the tether moved as he did, following him as it corrected as he kept moving. The line was a light green, something that reminded him of Ven’s magic, but he couldn’t feel the warmth of Ven’s winds.

Soon the line was in front of him, leading to the shore of the beach. He listened as the sounds of the waves felt like they were right in his ears. He listened, trying to hear the sounds buried under the waves. Soon he recognised it, the song he and his friends had made so long ago. It sounded so strained, sorrow following the line towards him till it all hit him. They needed him. Taking off Roxas ran for the ocean, followed by the sound of his friends calling out to him. Using his magic he all but tore off his human disguise as he dove underwater, following the line that connected to his friends.

They were there, right in front of him were Hayner, Pence and Olette. They looked tired; their eyes had bags under them. It scared Roxas. What were they doing here, so far from home near a human settlement. The line leading the two groups dissipated as they saw each other, his friends rushing at him, as they suddenly discovered a second wind. He hugged them, falling into a comfort he hadn’t felt for a while. The four floated, all hugging, soaking up the contact. Eventually they let go.

“Roxas, thank Poseidon we found you.” Olette exclaimed, her eyes shining.

“What happened?” He asked. The three looked at each other, their faces grave.

“Atlantica, it’s under attack.” Pence stated. Roxas looked at them in shock.

“Ven told us to find you, he said we’d need magic to fight.” Hayner added.

“Ven. He’s in Atlantica?” Roxas asked. The three nodded.

“He was looking for a friend of his but this guy attacked.” Pence explained. “He had an army and everything, it was pretty serious.”

“Ven went to fight.” Olette said, looking down. Roxas bit his lip, this wasn’t good.

“Come on, we should tell Sora.” The three looked at him.

“Sora’s here too?” He nodded.

Leading them up to the shore he sat on the beach, he saw everyone looking at him as he surfaced, causing him to blush slightly. Soon his friends also surfaced, surprised to be face to face with a group of humans. Pence grabbed Roxas’s shoulder.

“Rox, those are humans.” Roxas laughed slightly.

“I know.” The three looked at Roxas like he grew a second head.

“You hate humans.”

“Most humans, not these one.” He explained. He looked at Sora who looked surprised.

“Hayner, Pence, Olette what are you doing here?” He asked. The humans all looked confused, Roxas realised they were talking in the Ancient tongue.

“Sora! Is that you?” Hayner exclaimed. Sora laughed.

“Yeah, you’ve missed a lot.” Roxas rolled his eyes.

“They’re not the only ones.” Sora looked at him in confusion.  
Roxas let his friends explain the situation, translating it so the humans could understand, as Xion and Naminé looked on in shock.

“Someone attacked Atlantica!” Naminé said surprised. “That shouldn’t be possible Atlantica has a barrier around it.” The twins looked at Naminé in surprise.

“It’s meant to protect against those with corrupt magic, so they can’t harm citizens. I saw it when we passed through.”

“Aerith did say that the King had magic.” Sora added. Roxas thought it over.

“So what do we do?” He asked. Everyone paused, thinking it over.

“It’s likely that the person who attacked is Ansem.” Aqua eventually said. Everyone looked at her.

“Think about it, he wanted to ‘collect’ us to bring back to Xehanort, and Ven was in town at the time.”

“Not to mention he might be after magic artefacts.” Naminé added.

“We have to stop him, if he gets even more powerful then nothing will stop him.” Xion said.

“Yeah, and we need to help Ven, he’s our friend after all.” Sora exclaimed. Everyone smiled.

“Ok, so it takes about 1-3 days to get to Atlantica, depending on the currents, so if we hurry we can be there soon.” Roxas explained. Everyone nodded.

“We’ll call our parents, after last time I don’t think they’ll appreciate us just disappearing again.” Kairi said.

“Tell them me and Terra are taking you on a small expedition with us.” Aqua supplied. The two nodded, whipping out their phones. Roxas looked at his friends, still floating in the water. He knew they probably wanted a rest before they went back but if things were this bad… eventually Riku and Kairi finished their phone calls, each getting the permission needed. Looking over everyone he wondered how they were going to sneak into Atlantica. He and Sora knew some secret passages but he wasn’t sure how useful they would be now.

“Ok, so how are we getting there?” Kairi asked. Sora grinned.

“With magic!” Roxas rolled his eyes. Sora, Xion and Naminé all got in the water, using their magic to transform themselves. The humans looked on in surprise, realising the implication. Axel was grinning, while Riku looked unsure. Splitting up the humans the merpeople got ready to transform them. 

First was Axel, who Xion helped transform. It took a bit of time, darkness enveloping Axel. Roxas watched as the darkness swirled around Axel, making his silhouette impossible to see. Soon the darkness faded away, leaving Axel who was sitting on the sandy beach. He had a large red tail with white stripes. The back was adorned with long spikes that ran down his back to the tip of his tail, becoming more frequent the further down. He grinned, looking at his new tail.

“Lionfish, nice.” Roxas laughed.

Next up was Aqua and Terra, who Naminé helped out. Their transformation was quick, white orbs surrounding the two before dissipating, floating away. Aqua’s tail was a light blue, the length of it stretching down the shore into the deeper parts of the ocean. Along the back of the tail were small needle like fins, spanning the entire tail. She had on a blue bikini top with a star fruit design on it. Terra’s tail was short but large with four small fins coming off it. It was a brown colour, with lighter brown spotted about. Terra and Aqua looked at each other.

“You’re an oarfish, right?” Terra asked. Aqua nodded.

“I think you’re meant to be a Coelacanth.” Terra looked at his tail in wonder.

Finally, was Riku and Kairi. Sora and Roxas both helped them. The two were surrounded in water, with flashes of light woven between the liquid. It took a minute but soon the water and light dissipated leaving Riku and Kairi. Riku’s tail was a long silvery-blue, meeting at his torso it slowly split out, leading to eight long tentacles, with two longer ones reaching further down. The two longer tentacles had small cups on it. Kairi’s tail was a long tadpole like tail, its soft pink colour making it stand out. On her head were six feather-like gills, three on each side. She had her pink checkered fill bikini on. The two looked at each other before looking away, blushing. Axel laughed.

“Am I an Axolotl?” Kairi exclaimed.

“I think so. I can’t believe I’m a squid.” Riku huffed.

“I don’t know, I think it suits you.” Kairi said, her ears burning. Riku’s face became more flushed. Sora swum up to the two, a wide smile on his face.

“You two look amazing!” Sora said, causing the two to blush even more. Roxas sighed at his brother’s ignorance, punching Axel in the arm as he kept laughing. Giving everyone a quick run down on swimming the group soon set out. It was going to be a long trip but they had to do it, for their friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg in so bad with dates :/  
> Well here's a slightly late update. All tail species down below, even though they were said in the chapter.
> 
> Aqua :Oar fish  
> Terra: Coelacanth  
> Axel: Lionfish  
> Riku: Squid  
> Kairi: Axolotl


	8. Chapter 8

He was drifting, his body seamlessly switching forms as he simply floated in the darkness. He felt no need to open his eyes, content with doing nothing. Soon his feet touched the ground, opening his eyes he looked around the darkness aimlessly, unsure of what he was looking for. Suddenly a door appeared in front of him, walking closer he grabbed the door handle, pulling the door open as a blinding light poured out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He was swimming, swimming down to a castle. This was it, after all this time he was going to confront him. Opening the doors Ven swum up to the platform, his heart sinking at what he saw. It was Brain, in his merform as he tinkered with different devices and spells. Darkness was floating off his hands. He knew magic.

“Brain?” Ven asked cautiously. Maybe there was a reason he hid the fact, Ven knew that people could be bias towards dark affinities but to hide it from his friends, his family. Brain turned around, the darkness fading.

“Ven? What are you doing here?”

“I heard you had a lab down here, I wanted to ask you something.” Ven looked around the room. It was large, bits and bobs everywhere. Some of the equipment had enchantments over them, letting them survive underwater. 

“What is it?” Ven paused a moment.

“Why… why didn’t you tell anyone, we wouldn’t have cared, you’re our friend.” Brain sighed.

“It’s not that simple Ven, none of you should have ever found out about this.”

“Really, what about when it could have helped, helped us find Strelitzia or Marluxia.”

“Ven...”

“What, you couldn’t even help with that. I-is it true.” Brain looked at him in confusion.

“Is what true?”

“Do you know something about Strelitzia’s disappearance.” Brain froze.

“Who told you that.”

“A few people, Marluxia, Luxu, even Nixamen. They, they all thought something was wrong.”

“Ven, drop it.” Ven looked up at him.

“No! I can’t just drop it, this is about our friends, our family.” Ven watched the darkness reappear around Brain, how it coiled around him, like its own being.

“Brain?” Ven watched as the dark tendrils shot out at him.

“SNAP”

The sound echoed in his ears, frozen he stood, watching as his horn slowly fell. The pain was non-existent, clouded by the feeling of betrayal he felt swirling within him. T-This couldn’t be real, after everything they had done, everything they had been through it had what… been a lie. Looking at his friend Ven saw nothing. His face was blank, nothing to show he cared after ruining Ven’s horn.

It hurt Ven’s heart even more.

First it had been Marluxia, leaving to find his sister. When she had first disappeared Ven had done everything he could to make sure Marluxia was ok. He had helped - all of them had - to try to find her but the more they looked it was like she vanished. So he left.

It had hurt Ven’s heart.

Even though Marluxia had left Ven had never really stopped looking. He had tried looking into the more magical angles, diving deep under in hopes of finding something. He hadn’t expected to find answers underwater. A charm the mage had said, he was protected from something yet the protection was a curse of its own. So he had dived deeper. The flames of war were on his fins as he searched. He made sure to find a way to see if the others had this magic cast on them. He felt sick when he found it.

Eventually the war started, and everyone left. Except one.  
He had found him.

It had hurt his heart more.  
Standing in front of Brain, after everything had hurt. He was a dark mage. It was his fault. Yet he couldn’t truly hate him. He had yelled, pouring his feelings into each word. It hadn’t helped. He was too late to truly make a difference. The darkness had leaked off of him as he had talked calmly, any expressions on his face melting away. For the first time Ven saw the true Brain.

He felt his heart tearing.

Then it happened, the magic that had been leaking off of Brain had struck. It make Ven wonder if he was hurt as well. The magic had hit him dead on, snapping his horn in half. He felt blood slowly pouring down his face from the accompanying cut. Ven had felt the tears welling up yet he had to stand strong. The magic had pushed Brains hat off his head. Looking him in the eyes Brain simply said.

“They need you Ven.” Ven’s heart broke in two.

So Ven had ran. He ran and he ran till the world around him faded away and all that was left was the inky blackness that had brought him back there, thrust that memory into his face. He couldn’t handle it, not again. Soon he stopped, panting as he desperately tried to catch his breath. He heard clapping.

“Well well, look who’s back.” Ven looked up at the shadowy figure.

“You know, I was surprised you actually left. You gave up your new friends looking for lost ones.” The shadows sneered.

“SHUT UP!” Ven yelled, his fear still fresh. The shadow merely laughed.

“Now why would I do that, after all these are your thoughts, I just send the message.”

“That’s not true, they’re still my friends, both of them.” The shadow turned towards him.

“Oh really, then what are you doing here, stuck in one nightmare after another, when you should be out there, looking for them doing better than you are.” The shadow paused. “Oh that’s right, him…”

“Him?” Ven asked. The shadow laughed bitterly.

“Yes him, the one who attacked you. Ansem I believe. He tried to corrupt you, taint your magic and turn it into darkness. Like I’d let that happen.”

“You protected me?”

“Protected you, barely, more like protected myself, I live here too even if I’m not real.”

“You look pretty real to me.” Ven said. The shadow looked at him in surprise.

“Are you brain dead, I’m a fucking shadow I don’t have a true form. I’m not real.”

“Then who are you?” Ven asked.

“Me, I’m just a messed-up barrier spell made by someone who doesn’t understand ancient magic.” Suddenly it clicked.

“You’re the darkness resistant spell Brain cast on me?” The shadow nodded.

“He finally gets it. Give the man a prize.” Ven pouted.

“Then why are you still here, Brain… he’s long dead.” Ven looked down. The shadow scoffed.

“So, I’m connected to you not Brain, as far as I’m concerned, he had no connection to me.” Ven looked up at the shadow.

“Do you know how to get out of here?” He asked. The shadow shrugged.

“Follow some door, fight against the past, who knows. It’s not like I can leave so why bother look for a door.” Ven nodded.

“Ok, I’m gonna find a way out and then I can visit you from time to time.” The shadow looked surprised at the offer.

“Why would you want to visit?”

“Well you’re a part of me too, in a way right. So it’s wrong to just leave you here alone.” The shadow sighed.

“Fine, it’s your death wish.” The shadow waved a hand summoning a door.

“Try this door, it might help.” Ven smiled.

“Thank you.” He walked through the door.

\---------------------------------------------

Everything hurt, he could feel the dried blood covering part of his face. His freshly broken horn still throbbed. Slowly making his way through the battlefield he could feel the oppressive force of lost magic settling over the battlefield. It was a truly horrible sight. People fighting one another, all with legs, but he knew these people, some his neighbours, some his friends. This was a fight between humans and Merpeople, and there would be no survivors. The faces and screams of the people who fought still haunted him, the sound ever present during otherwise silence. Making his way through the crowds of people he ducked and weaved his way through the crowds of people, closing his every time he heard the sound of metal against metal. Steel and against flesh. It pained him.

He felt a sword slash against his side, throwing him to the ground. He coughed, quickly placing his hand to his side. He saw the scar, how it never faded. Most of them had but this was one of the deeper ones. He kept on moving making his way to the centre, he couldn’t stop not now, he had to get to his friends, and protect their home, Atlantica. He finally made it to the centre, all the wounds he gathered giving him phantom pain. He looked at the moon, the light pouring over the battle. He had to go, he had to wake up.

\-------------------------------------------

The kingdom had been easy enough to capture, despite all the potential the merpeople held they were fearful of their gifts, throwing it to the side so easily. It made him sick. But it didn’t matter now, not when he had the kingdom under his thumb. The king was powerless without his trident, and with a simple flick of a wrist he had knocked it from the man’s hands. All that was left was to destroy the barrier the woman had placed around herself and the boy. She was growing weak as his darkness battled against her barrier. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so obviously this update is late. That's cause my computer tried to die on me multiple times over the last week. It should be good now, and i didn't lose anything!


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a slow trip, the group all having different swimming speeds. The former humans were adjusting to swimming with a tail, rather than kicking their legs. Soon they fell into a comfortable rhythm, with Sora and Xion at the front, and Roxas and his friends at the back. They had stopped a few times, each reason differing. First Aqua kept getting excited over all the fish they passed, stopping Terra to show him and explain the type of fish.

Eventually Terra just latched onto her arm, dragging her onwards every time she got distracted. This didn’t last too long though, as the lower and closer to Atlantica they got, the more Terra would be distracted by ruins of ships or old mer-civilisations. Soon Riku and Kairi were put in charge of looking after the adults. Some of the more brave sea life would swim up to the group, Kairi indulging in petting the creatures. She even managed to rope Riku into petting some. 

They would also stop to rest, having a few snack breaks as the former humans caught their breath. Sora and Roxas even ended up hunting during one of the rests, bringing back enough food to last the rest of the trip. Getting the humans to eat the fresh fish had caused its own problems, as they refused to eat it raw. Eventually it was Naminé who managed to convince them, simply biting into a fish to prove a point. The former humans had all stared at her in shock, before Axel shrugged and joined her, after that they former humans didn’t complain.

Roxas spent a majority of the trip explaining to Hayner, Pence and Olette everything that had been going on, and the three were buzzing at the idea of being able to use magic. Hayner suggested they show off to Seifer to freak him out as payback for all the headaches he had caused. Pence had been bugging Roxas about the humans, what they were like, were all the rumours true. Olette laughed along, but would jump in to ask her own questions, even going over to the other girls to get answers Roxas didn’t know.

Soon they were nearing Atlantica, the tall castle shining like a beacon. They group stopped outside town, hiding themselves on some nearby tunnels.

“Ok, so what’s the plan.” Xion asked.

“Well, if Ansem took over the place then we’ll need to be sneaky, that’s where I come in.” Axel said. Everyone looked at him.

“First we need to see what’s going on in town, are the people out and about, or hiding in their homes. Also, we need to see what the security is.” Everyone nodded.

“If you need people to sneak around then leave it to me and Sora.” Roxas said.

“Yeah, we know all the secret spots!” Sora added. Axel grinned.

“Ok, you guys are just getting a look around, don’t do anything stupid.” Roxas nodded, pulling Sora out of the tunnel. 

\-------------------  
The two swum against the edge of the wall, till they came upon a small crack in the wall. Swimming through the two ended up behind a long since abandoned mansion.

“Ok, where to first.” Roxas asked.

“We could try a guard station, maybe there’ll be someone in it.” Sora suggested. The two swum off towards the nearest station. The first thing they noticed was that there were still people swimming around. Their eyes looked hollow, darkness seeping out of them. The two stuck to the back alleys. All the houses looked deserted, some with doors swung open. Some houses had furniture knocked around, signs of a struggle, Sora felt sick.

Eventually the two made it to a guard station. Cautiously they swam up to the window, peeking in to see if they could see anyone. The building looked empty; weapons thrown around the room. Nodding the two swam inside. The inside was empty, the usually comforting clutter feeling wrong without the usual attendance of people. The weapon rack was nearly empty, some broken swords and bow staffs laid on the floor.

“I think everyone’s been possessed.” Roxas said grimmly, cutting through the silence. Sora looked down, grief sinking in. Roxas placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll save everyone, after all this is Ansem’s fault no one else.” Sora smiled.

“Thanks, Rox.” Roxas shrugged.

“Come on, let’s get back to everyone.” As the two turned to leave the stopped, a noise having caught their attention.

“Did you hear that?” Sora asked. Roxas nodded. Swimming towards the noise they were led to a desk in the back, a shield leaning on the leg. Moving the shield Sora was pushed back as something shot at him. He started laughing, feeling the creature rub against his face. Pulling the creature back he grinned.

“Meow Wow!” The small dogfish bit at the water, swimming around Sora in delight. The dogshark belonged to the guard station, but had imprinted itself onto Sora. Sora had all but adopted the creature, doing guard duty with the small shark. 

“Did you get stuck here?” He asked. Meow Wow nodded. Roxas smiled slightly.

“Come on, let's get back.” Sora grinned following Roxas, Meow Wow following behind.

Making their way back they managed to avoid detection, Meow Wow warning Sora and Roxas when someone was approaching, letting the twins escape sight quickly. Eventually they made it back to the tunnels their friends were waiting in. The group lit up, seeing the twins.

“Sora, Roxas are you two ok?” Naminé asked, worry in her voice. Sora laughed, petting Meow Wow.

“We’re fine, thanks to Meow Wow.” The group looked at the shark.

“Is that a dogfish?” Aqua asked.

“The guards use then to help them work; they can help track people.” Roxas explained.

“So, like a police dog.” Riku said.

“I guess?” Roxas said.

“What’s a dog?” Sora asked. Axel laughed.

\------------------------------------

After explaining dogs in more depth, the group got back on track. Sora and Roxas explained the situation, how everyone had darkness coming off them. Terra flinched at the description, Aqua putting a supportive arm around him. Xion looked angry at someone using their darkness for such horrible things, Naminé grabbing her hand and squeezing it to calm her. After the twins explained the situation everyone was silent, thinking over everything.

“Hey Xion, how much control over your darkness do you have?” Naminé asked quietly. Xion looked at her.

“I’m getting better, I can hold my darkness for hours. Why?” Naminé looked at her in determination.

“I have an idea.” Everyone looked at Naminé.

“Xion if you can make us look like we’ve been possessed then we might be able to simply sneak in. Then we can find Ansem and make him drop the spell. I can boost your magic, but I’m not that great with dark magic.” Naminé explained. Xion looked at everyone.

“W-would you all be ok with that.” She asked, specifically looking at Terra. Terra looked at Xion for a moment.

“I’m pretty sure anyone’s darkness would be better than Ansem’s.” Xion smiled slightly.

“Ok.” Everyone smiled, excitement teeming in the water.  
Roxas looked at Hayner, Pence and Olette.

“Hey guys, would- ” He paused. “Would you three be ok staying here, for now.” The three looked at him in surprise. “I know you guys probably want to join in but, I would feel better knowing that if something goes wrong you guys have our backs.” He smiled. The three looked at each other before grinning.

“Ok, but only so that when you need help, we’ll come in spectacularly to save your ass.” Hayner exclaimed. Roxas laughed.

“Sure you will.” Hayner looked at Roxas in fake hurt.

“What’s that supposed to mean.” Pence and Olette laughed.

“Stay safe.” Roxas nodded.

“Of course.”

\---------------------------------------

Everyone stood around Xion and Naminé, determined. Xion looked at Naminé for a moment before nodding, her eyes burning. Naminé grabbed Xion’s hand, channelling her own magic into Xion. Xion focused. She remembered how her magic felt compared to Ansem’s how cold and sad his had felt, the hidden grief that lingered for his lost brother. She thought of her own, how it blocked out the cold, making her feel warm inside.

How the warmth remind her of her friends, how they stood out in the sea of silhouettes, their brightness contrasting with the empty cold of Ansem. She remembered how her magic felt like a blanket, protecting her from the world around. She imagined spreading that blanket over her friends, all of them comfy and content under its walls. She opened her eyes.

Everyone had a thin veil of darkness around then, sinking and reforming around their bodies. They all looked at her, their eyes bright and alive and the sight of it made Xion feel relieved. It had worked. She looked a Naminé, who was smiling at her, a sheen of darkness around her as well.

“You did it!” Naminé exclaimed, giving Xion a quick kiss on the cheek. Xion grinned, her stomach fluttering. Everyone was inspecting themselves, looking at the darkness the floating over them.

“Well then, guess we’re ready to go.” Axel stated. “Sora, Roxas lead the way.”

\-------------------------

The group made their way to secret entrance. Entering the town everyone looked around.

“Ok, we should split into two groups, that way we’ll look less suspicious. Can you handle that Xion?” Axel said. Xion nodded.

“As long as no one leaves the town I should be good.” Splitting off the two group took off in different directions. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua and Terra went towards the residential area. Roxas, Axel, Xion and Naminé went towards the city centre. They two groups said to meet up at the castle entrance if they didn’t find anything.

Exploring the residential area was strange for Sora. Houses he recognised had been broken into, children’s toys and people’s personal effects were laying on the roads, dropped in the initial struggle. Making his way through he checking a few houses of people he knew; Cloud and Squall’s home was empty. It hadn’t been broken into; Sora guessed ‘cause they weren’t home at the time. The thought filled Sora with more worry. Eventually he made it to his and Roxas’s home, the door safely closed. Pulling out a key he opened the house, swinging open the door he swam in.

It felt like ages since he had been home, even if it had only been a few weeks. The place looked well kept, Sora wondering if Squall and Cloud cleaned it. There was even still food in the kitchen, which surprised him. He thought about taking it, but decided against it. Eventually he made it to the living room.

“This your house?” Kairi asked, looking at the small sculpture of him and his brother. He smiled slightly.

“Yep, been a bit since I’ve been home though.” Riku put a hand on his shoulder.

“When this is all over you should show us around.” Sora blushed slightly at the thought, a grin growing on his face.

“You’re on.” Eventually the group swam out of the house, the district completely searched. Realising there was nothing there the group made their way to the castle.

\------------------------------------

Roxas admittedly wasn’t much of a shopper, content to letting Olette and Pence help him buy things when he needed something. He and his brother didn’t buy lots of clothes or anything, most of the objects they owned being from ruins Ariel would drag them too. The town centre wasn’t packed for once, merpeople floating in and out, not stopping at any buildings. It was strange to watch. They all checked the different buildings, Axel commenting on the lack of writing and over all images. Roxas simply rolled his eyes, explaining how they don’t write underwater. Axel had been horrified at the idea.

The buildings were empty, some objects thrown around but no one went inside. The group never lingered inside too long, not wanting to gain unwanted attention. As things were looking hopeless Xion pointed something out.

“Is it me, or is everyone heading towards the castle.” Roxas looked over, seeing the small groups of people making their way towards the castle, he wondered if something had happened but considering it wasn’t everyone, he doubted it.

“It makes sense, if the boss man is hiding there, he’d want protection.” Axel said. Xion nodded.

“Let’s check it out.”

\---------------------------------------

The two groups met up at the castle, grinning when they saw each other. Making their way to a more secluded area the groups explained what they had seen.

“So, guess the last place to look it the castle.” Terra said.  
Making their way to the castle entrance, the building was wide open. They swam through the gate, traveling through the endless hallways. Suddenly they stopped, seeing guards in front of a room.

“Is that the main room?” Axel asked, Roxas shook his head.

“That’s Ariel’s room.” He looked at Sora.

“Why are they just guarding it, wouldn’t Ansem just possess her as well?” Aqua asked. The twins thought about it.

“Maybe Triton did something?” Sora suggested.

“Only one way to find out.” Nodding Roxas and Sora sprung out at the guards quickly knocking them out, moving them to a more hidden area the two opened the door, letting everyone pour in. Inside the room was Ariel, her father, King Triton lying on her bed. She looked at the group in surprise.

“Sora, Roxas?” Sora quickly swam up to her.

“Ariel it’s us, we haven’t been possessed we’re trying to take down the bad guy.” Ariel looked at him in surprise.

“You’re not possessed, how?”

“We weren’t in town when it happened, this is a disguise thanks to Xion.” Roxas explained. Ariel looked at the group.

“What happened Ariel?” Sora asked, she sighed.

“That man Ansem, he came into the castle claiming it as his. Daddy tried to fight against him but the man took his trident. Then he made him fall asleep, he’s been like this since. He locked us in here.” Ariel looked at them.

“He, he had an army of merfolk and sea creatures, all of them covered in that darkness. He even captured Leon and Cloud; they didn’t look possessed. He also had someone pushing in Aerith and someone in dark armour, they were in this bubble of sorts, like the one over the town.” Sora and Roxas looked at her in shock.

“He caught Squall and Cloud.” Sora exclaimed.

“We still haven’t found Ven.” Roxas muttered, thinking. Roxas looked at Ariel.

“You stay here, we’ll deal with Ansem.” She nodded.

“Stay safe.”

The group left the room, making their way towards the throne room. Quickly they opened the doors, the large doors groaning loudly as they entered. To the side were Squall and Leon, struggling against possessed merpeople. Aerith was sitting next to the throne, panting deeply, the bubble around her gone. The throne was empty. Ansem wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Darting in everyone got to work. Naminé darted up to Aerith, Xion on her tail. Sora, Roxas and Terra took out the guards, freeing Squall and Cloud. The two looked at the group in surprise.

“When did you two make so many friends.” Cloud asked, a small smile on his face. Sora flung himself at the two older men, hugging them tightly. Squall returned the hug, wrapping an arm around the teen.

“What happened here?” Roxas asked. Squall looked at him.

“The man, Ansem he took off-“ Squall began.

“He took Ven.” Aerith explained, slowly swimming over, Naminé and Xion at her sides. Everyone looked at her.

“What do you mean he took Ven?” Aqua asked, worry leaking into her tone.

“He said he would take Ansem somewhere if he didn’t hurt anyone.”

“Where did he take him?!” Aerith paused.

“Castle Oblivion.”


	10. Chapter 10

Hours earlier

Ven groaned, blinking his eyes as he began to stir. He was lying down he realised, with someone wrapped around him protectively. Sensing his movement, the person held him tighter. Walking up some more Ven quickly realised that he had armour on. Looking through the visor he saw Aerith looking down at him in worry. As he began to speak Aerith quickly moved a hand to her lips.

Ven stopped, his eyes scanning the room. They were in some kind of throne room that was slightly distorted from inside the barrier. Closer to the door was Leon and Cloud, possessed merpeople at their side. They looked tired, simply sitting on the ground. On the throne was Ansem, he looked bored, his gaze wandering the room. Anger welled up inside Ven. Quietly he whispered to Aerith.

“Are you ok?” She looked at him before looking up at Ansem.

“I’m ok.” She whispered back; her voice airy. He wondered how long she had been using this barrier for. 

Suddenly the door opened, a few merpeople swimming in. In their hands were different artefacts, the colour and quality differing. Ansem inspected them, throwing most of them back, in his hand he ended up with a sleek black key. Grinning he looked it over. Slowly he got off the throne, swimming over to Ven and Aerith. Ven watched as Ansem smiled.

“Let us see if this will finally get rid of your useless barrier.” Aerith glared at him.

“For a useless barrier it’s done a good job of keeping you out.” Ansem growled, pointing the small key at the barrier. The key was still for a moment before the tip began to light up. Energy lit at the end of the key, the dark black light gathering into a ball of energy. Suddenly the ball shot off, creating a beam of light hitting the barrier. Ven looked at the barrier realised it was beginning to fail. He whispered to Aerith.

“When the barrier drops, I’ll surprise attack him.” Aerith nodded. Waiting till there was a large enough gap in the barrier Aerith dropped it, instantly swimming back. Ven sprung up, swimming at Ansem, magic gathering in his hand. Putting his hand on Ansem’s chest he let go of the magic letting a storm whirl around Ansem. The wind cut at his skin, leaving wounds littering Ansem’s skin. Ansem swum back a growl on his lips. He looked at Ven.

“It seems you’ve finally awoken.” Ven scoffed.

“What do you want.” Ansem grinned at the question, straightening himself.

“It seems that you have information I desire, and you will give it to me.” Ven laughed.

“Why would I do that?”

“I’m sure your friends here would appreciate your cooperation.” Ansem raised a hand causing the merpeople to point their weapons at Leon and Cloud. The two began struggling, trying to break free. Ven looked behind him to see Aerith in a similar position. He sighed.

“Fine, but leave them alone.” Ansem smiled, lowering his hand.

“Of course. Now, lead me to the lost city, Daybreak Town.” Ven looked at him.

“Why would you want to go there, it’s all gone anyway.”

“Is it truly, or is that what you simply think.”

“What do you mean.”

“There is an ancient magic in that town, a magic I must have. It has kept the town alive even after these 400 years.” Ven looked at him in surprise.

“That’s impossible, it was the battleground of the Great War, the entire town was destroyed.”

“Then there should be no problem leading me there.” Ansem looked at Ven. If what Ansem said was true then maybe there was hope for his friends. He quickly got rid of the thought. He had been there, seen the destruction. Everything had been destroyed, everything except…

“Fine, I don’t know if it’s what you’re looking for, but I can take you to Castle Oblivion.”

“Castle Oblivion?”

“The last remaining building I know of from 400 years ago.” Ansem smiled.

“Well then, shall we.” Ven glared at him, looking back at his friends.

“Fine.” Ansem waved his hand, bringing more possessed people to them. The merpeople surrounded them, leaving only a space at the front. Ansem looked at Ven. Ven swam on not looking back at the adults. They were calling out for him, Leon and Cloud trying desperately to escape. He was doing the right thing, he had to be.

\--------------------------------------------- 

The trip took longer than Ven originally remembered, but he supposed it was due to the horrible pressure Ansem filled the area with. They were doing deeper and deeper, Ven surprised that the strange amour he was wearing didn’t weigh him down more. Soon Ven saw the tell tale signs of the bleached coral reef. Swimming with a bit more energy he swam up to the castle gates. It felt like an eternity since he had last been here, the building still as intimidating as he remembered. Ansem was standing further back, looking up at the impressive castle.

Pushing open the doors Ven swum in. Two of the mer people stayed at the entrance, guarding the doors. Ansem followed after Ven, a guard by his side. The white walls looked the same, the magic radiating off them. This castle wasn’t meant to be under water, not for so long yet the magic still held. He wondered if the leaking magic had bleached the possibly one colourful coral.

Swimming through the halls the group eventually arrived at the 13th floor. Ven hesitated for a moment before pushing open the doors. The room looked exactly the same as it had weeks ago. A white throne sat in the centre of the otherwise empty room. Ansem looked around in disappointment.

“Is this all there is?” He asked, annoyance leaking into his tone. Ven shook his head. Swimming up to the throne he sat down, closing his eyes he felt around for the connection. It was an old one, one he hadn’t felt for so long. He reached out to it, grabbing it the moment it appeared. Opening his eyes, he saw how the normally shifting chains were solid, a light green flowing through them. He was in.

Focusing he looked around the castle, looking for anything connecting it to Daybreak Town. Eventually he locked onto a strange magic, one he almost didn’t recognise. It was the Master’s magic. The Master of Masters was known as the most powerful mage, one born of human and merfolk. It was said he had every affinity, and yet no weaknesses, he trained pupils of each element, teaching them some of the most powerful magic known to man.

Ven activated the old magic, waiting a moment for it to work. Everything began shaking. Opening his eyes, he looked around the room. His magic was flowing through the chains, surrounded by a pure white magic. The energy shot up above the room, reaching the top of the castle. Ansem looked at his other guard, ordering them to see what the outside looked like. The merman obediently swam outside. The tremors stopped for a moment, and Ven watched as a wall at the back of the room opened up. The two looked at the entrance before entering, Ven at the front with Ansem following behind.

The room itself was small, the usual white colour hidden behind all the pipes full of pure magic. The room itself was empty of water, the staircase leading upwards, stopping water from filling the room. The two transformed, the strange armour Ven wore changing to fit his human form. Looking around Ven realised the room looked like a laboratory. There was a small window, looking out, with a desk full of loose notes and books covering it. There were all sorts of tools, machines, big and small. Ansem quickly went over to the desk, flipping through the notes.

Suddenly everything began to shake again. The passageway closed off, leaving the two stuck in the room. Ven rushed to the window, looking outside in hopes of seeing what was wrong. Ven watched as bits of rocks fell down, the building adopting a white glow. Quickly Ven realised the castle was moving up. He watched as the castle rebuilt itself, the ruins reforming into the imposing building it had once been. The water became brighter and brighter as they moved upwards. Ansem didn’t look even slightly annoyed, all his attention on the notes and books he read. Soon the castle surfaced, appearing near a shore. Ven watched as a beam of light shot of the building, creating a large barrier deeper onto land.

Ansem looked up, notes in hand. The door reopened; the water now gone. Ansem gripped Ven, dragging him along.

“We’re not done quite yet.”

Dragging the two out, Ansem began walking towards the barrier, the books and notes he took safely tucked away in a small book bag. They kept walking in silence, Ansem pulling out notes to read while Ven fought with his feeling of nostalgia. He recognised the forest they were walking through, the same forest he had once become lost in himself. Traveling he tried to dismiss all his feelings and emotions as they rose up one after another. Eventually the two made it to the barrier. Ven walked up to the barrier, hesitantly he placed a hand on it.

Reacting to his touch the barrier shattered, the magic floating to the ground. As the magic touched the ground it lit up the soil, one after another until the entire area was alight. Suddenly the light moved, forming silhouettes. The lines of light shot up, bringing buildings with it. Ven watched in awe as ruined building emerged from the ground. He recognised the areas. Watching as buildings he had once been in emerged, ruined and torn apart. Weapons of all types emerged as well, most broken, dust and dirt covering the blades. In the centre of it all was the clock tower, in complete pristine condition. Ansem grinned.

“That is our next destination.” He said, beginning to walk through the war-torn town. Ven stood there is shock for a moment. He recognised the area. They were at Daybreak Town.

\-------------------------------------------

Aqua was pissed. Aerith had explained everything that had happened, how Ansem had attacked, how he had been trying to get to Ven. How he blackmailed Ven into working for him. She was so angry, at what Ansem had done to this town and to her friend. She was also upset, wondering if Ven would have been ok if she hadn’t let him leave, hadn’t let Ansem get away. She looked at everyone. Sora and Roxas were looking over Leon and Cloud, people who apparently had looked after the twins since they were young. Naminé was tending to Aerith, how looked beyond tired. Everyone else was looked around, the realisation of just how big this was impacting everyone. Suddenly the ground shook slightly. Everyone looked around, trying to see a source.

“What was that?” Kairi asked, edging closer to Riku.

“I think it was a tremor.” Terra said, uncertainty in his tone.

“Underwater? It sure didn’t feel that close.” Axel remarked. Naminé suddenly shot up, swimming to the top of the room, looking out a window. Xion swum up beside her.

“Nam?” She asked, wrapping her arm around her waist. Naminé leaned into the touch slightly, still looking out the window.

“Something happened to Castle Oblivion.” Everyone looked at her.

“But that’s were Ven is!” Sora exclaimed.

“The magic feels different; I think something happened to it.”

“So now what?” Axel asked.

“We have to find it, Naminé do you know if it’s still there?” Aqua asked. Naminé thought for a moment.

“I think I can find it, but I think it surfaced.” Everyone looked at her in surprise.

“It surfaced, so what? They’re on land now?” Axel exclaimed, Naminé simply shrugged.

“I suppose so, I’m sorry I don’t have much else.” Aqua smiled slightly.

“That’s more than enough.” Aqua looked at Aerith, Cloud and Leon. “Do any of you know what specifically Ansem was looking for?”

“He mentioned a place called Daybreak Town, Ven seemed to know the name.” Cloud explained. Aqua paled, looking over at Terra he looked pale too.

“Aqua, Terra?” Riku asked.

“That’s the town that was lost during the Great War 400 years ago, it’s the town Ven lived in.” Everyone looked at Terra in surprise.

“We have to go there, and stop Ansem.” Everyone nodded.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I'm back with part 2. 
> 
> This one's a bit different, cause i tried to write some fights in it. They're probs not the best but eh, i had fun writing it and hope you all have fun reading it.


End file.
